Baghdad ( Agenzia Fides) - The Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans Louis Raphael I Sako calls on the Chaldean Church and all Iraqis to share a day of fasting and prayer for Syria convened by Pope Francis for Saturday, September 7. "In solidarity with the desire of Pope Francis and his invitation to dedicate next Saturday, September 7 to prayer and fasting with the intention of establishing peace and stability in Syria, the Middle East and the world – said the statement sent to Fides Agency – we ask all Catholic bishops to invite their faithful sons and daughters to fast together with all people of good will in the world so that the suffering of millions of men comes to an end and the destruction caused by violence ceases".
In his speech at the meeting on the conditions of Arab Christians convened by the Hashemite Monarchy (Amman, 3-4 September), Patriarch Sako had repeated that many Christians prefer to leave the countries of the Middle East also because "they feel threatened" and "feel treated as second-class citizens". (GV) (Agenzia Fides 05/09/2013)